Emerging Payments Association publishes new Open Banking report

The report provides an overview of global initiatives, barriers to its adoption and importantly discusses the potential it has to change the entire payments industry.

Sponsored by a syndicate of EPA members the report is informed by a series of discussions and interviews with leading payments executives from the United Kingdom and beyond. These industry experts explained how their organisations are preparing for a large-scale adoption of open banking. The report also covers the several potential barriers to the adoption of open banking, from protection and user trust, to API performance and availability, and a lack of market incentives.

These barriers, whilst problematic, are weighed up against the positive potential impact on payments including the emergence of a new value chain in the payments ecosystem and wins for the big technology companies, according to finextra.com.

The analysis allowed the EPA to identify actions and recommendations for itself, its members and the wider payments industry. These include crucial themes such as ‘how to help create the market conditions for success’, and the ‘need to champion standards and the user experience’. The EPA’s new working stream ‘Project Open Banking’, will aim to implement these recommendations and help pave the way for payments to play a central role in enabling a transformative change in financial services.

Tony Craddock, Director General of the Emerging Payments Association, said: “This report is a case study showing collaboration in action. And that’s at the heart of open banking. Readers across the world can use it as a guide, as a series of checklists, drawing on what works – and what can go wrong. It will help accelerate the adoption of a common approach and common standards, and as a result, help make payments work for all.”